參考答案
This is a extremely open ended question that you can go in any number of directions. You could ask for clarifying questions that also show your knowledge like “is it a network or web app pentest?”, “external or internal network pentest?”, “is it black box or white box pentest?”, “is it a host/beacon based pentest or is their a jump box?”
The ideal move in my book is to steer the conversation to discuss whatever style of pentesting you happen to be most knowledgeable in. This way you are in your own wheel-house and can flex where you have the most depth of knowledge and expertise. If you're best at web app assessments, talk about that, if you're best at Active Directory pentesting, talk about that.
At a very high level, here are some talking points to base your answer:
- Pre-engagement (Scoping and Planning)
Have initial planning calls to understand your clients goals, scope, exclusions, time frames, security posture and maturity
2. Reconnaissance (Information Gathering)
Depending on the type and scope of the test, you would be searching the internet conducting OSINT on the targets in scope. Then progressing to active recon, enumerating target services.
3. Scanning and Enumeration
Kicking off Nmap, vulnerability scanners and other tools that help automate enumeration of vulnerabilities and low-hanging fruit.
4. Exploitation
Attempt to exploit identified vulnerabilities and validate identified security weaknesses. Attempt to seek higher privileges within systems exploited and/or pivoting to other systems.
5. Post-exploitation
- Data Exfiltration: Identify and attempt to exfiltrate sensitive data to demonstrate impact.
- Persistence: Test if persistent access can be maintained through backdoors or other methods.
6. Reporting
At the top of the report ought to be an executive summary to break things down for the non-technical C-Suite and up folks. Then breaking down findings into technical detail including all vulnerabilities, exploited systems, risk rating, impact, and remediation recommendations.
- Documentation: Write a detailed report covering all findings, including vulnerabilities, exploited systems, and potential impacts.
- Remediation Advice: Provide actionable recommendations to fix identified issues.
- Executive Summary: Offer a high-level overview for non-technical stakeholders.
7. Clean-Up
Collect and backup evidence. Ensure any changes made during the testing to client systems are reverted. Camping rules: leave everything better than how you found it.
8. Debrief and Follow-up
Walk though the report with the client to properly communicate risks found and remediation steps. Re-testing particularly egregious exploits once they are fixed is a nice plus.